


Too Much

by wylanvanecks



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attack, Sensory Overload, Whump, badthingshappenbingo, poor baby peter :/
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-02-23 20:38:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18709567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wylanvanecks/pseuds/wylanvanecks
Summary: Being Spider-Man comes along with a few so-not-fun side effects.





	Too Much

**Author's Note:**

> Square fill for Bad Things Happen Bingo  
> Square Filled: Sensory Overload

“Hey, Peter!” Vanessa greeted brightly, making him flinch. He had heard her approaching, of course, so it wasn’t because he was startled. It was just that she - and everything else - was so  _ loud _ . His ears rang with laughter from the next hallway over and he clenched his jaw. Vanessa seems to notice how on edge he is immediately, and seems to shrink a bit. “You okay?” she murmured, her voice soft. 

“What? Yeah, I’m fine,” he snapped. She looked taken aback, which made his chest hurt with guilt but he was too caught up in his head to pay it much attention. Someone slammed their locker and he flinched again, managing to drop his books. They hit the linoleum floor with an unbearable  _ thud _ . 

“Pe-”

“I’m  _ fine _ ,” he said, cutting off her question before she even asked it. “Just- I’m just tired.” That was true, just not the cause of his strange behavior. Even though the spider bite had given him some wicked powers, it also had some drawbacks. His senses always being dialed to eleven was just sometimes too much for his brain to handle, so days like today would happen, where every tiny sensory stimulant pushed him to the edge. 

He straightened up with his books cradled in his arms just as the bell rung, grating on his eardrums and making him tense all over. “C’mon, time for English,” his girlfriend said quietly, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder that he was quick to shrug off. He could feel every stitch in his clothing touching his skin, so that extra pressure was definitely  _ not  _ helping. 

Peter catches her hurt look and his guilt is suddenly back. After all, it wasn’t her fault he was starting to go crazy. “Hey, I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I’m just...Just jumpy, y’know?” 

Vanessa nodded in understanding. “It’s fine,” she said, flashing him a small smile. He could tell that she knew there was something deeper bugging him. “But if you wanna talk about it…”

“I know. You’re there.” He forced himself to grab her hand and twine their fingers together. All at once, his stomach filled with butterflies even as his skin felt like it was on fire. That wasn’t exactly a fun combination but he decided to just grin and bear it. He didn’t want Vanessa to know anything was wrong. He was Spider-Man, for crying out loud. He could handle his senses going haywire...Couldn’t he?

When they got to the correct classroom, Peter took his usual seat behind Vanessa and next to Ned. Well, normally he’d be next to Ned, but his best friend had left a day early to go on a cruise that his parents had booked for the upcoming three day weekend. Peter tugged on the noise cancelling headphones he had bought just for the days and let his tensed body relax as the chatting of his classmates faded just enough that he could hear himself think again. He managed to drown out their voices completely when he turned on his playlist, the  _ Star Wars _ soundtrack filling his ears. Listening to soundtrack music usually helped him calm down, at least more so than regular music did. 

This relative peace didn’t last long, of course. Things liked to go wrong for Peter, apparently. Plus, Flash Thompson was a dick. He also had the worst timing in the world. 

Flash slapped a hand onto Peter’s shoulder far harder than necessary, making Peter jolt as if he had just been given an electric shock. His headphones slipped off his head to settle around his neck, and Peter can’t tell if they just fell off or if Flash had tugged them off. “What’s up, Penis Parker?” he greeted, voice too loud and hand still on his shoulder. 

Peter couldn't respond. He couldn’t even react enough to shrug off his hand. His chest was constricting painfully, making it feel like he couldn’t breathe. Vaguely, he was aware of Vanessa standing up and knocking Flash’s hand off of him, and then he heard her voice, laced with anger as she told him off, though through his haze, Peter couldn’t make out her words. 

Suddenly, she was in focus again as she crouched beside his desk, in his line of sight. “Peter?” she asked softly, looking at him with clear concern. She reached out a hand like she wanted to touch him but clearly thought better of it as she draw her hand back to fold her hands into tight fists in her lap. “Hey, look at me.” 

He did as told, clenching his fists. His heart rate spiked as he tried to catch his breath. He could hear himself pulling in air, but it  _ felt  _ like he couldn’t breathe. Peter realized he wasn’t paying any attention to Vanessa, who was trying to speak to him. Even as he tried to focus on her words, the late bell rung shrilly and he shuddered, his nails digging into his palms and drawing beads of blood. 

“Okay, c’mon, Peter.” Vanessa had to repeat herself a few times before he finally paid enough attention to register what she was saying. Her face was a carefully controlled mask, but he could see the worry running rampant in her eyes. “Let’s go for a walk, okay?” Her tone was as calm as she could manage. 

He forced himself to his feet, feeling everyone’s eyes on him. He wanted to believe he was just being paranoid, but he felt embarrassment spread through him. Of course he’d cause a scene, as if he wasn’t unpopular enough at school already. Vanessa led him out of the classroom and down the hallway, both of them ignoring their teacher as he called after them. Peter clenched his jaw and squinted, the bright fluorescent lights making his eyes hurt and his headache feel ten times worse. 

His chest ached and he continued to suck in air as fast as he could, feeling like it was useless. They came to a stop in front of a maintenance closet. Vanessa checked to make sure the hallways was empty before using a bobby pin from her pocket to pick the lock. She stepped in, and when Peter didn’t follow, she hesitated before grabbing his hand and tugging him in. “I’m sorry,” she murmured, genuine regret in her voice as he yelped as if being burned and yanked his hand back. “Hey, sit down, okay? Pull your headphones on.” 

He sank to the floor, wanting to do as she said but feeling as if his hands were frozen in fists. She shut the door behind them, shutting them in blissful darkness. Things were quieter now, too. Vanessa’s steady heartbeat and breathing were faint, muffled by his own pounding heartbeat and heaving breaths. “Peter? Hey, just breathe.”

“I c-can’t,” he choked out, surprised at the tears he felt spill down his cheeks. 

“Okay,” she said softly. “Just try your best, okay? Close your eyes.” It was pointless in the complete darkness, but he complied, closing his eyes. “Match your breathing to mine.” Her voice was soft, but it was still noise and he just wanted everything to  _ stop _ . He felt like he was dying. He couldn’t breathe, and he was going to die, he was sure of it. 

Peter curled in on himself as best as he could, eyes squeezed shut tight as he tried to level his breathing. He did as Vanessa said, trying to match his hyperventilating to her deep, steady breaths. He wasn’t sure how long they were in there, but by the time he had gotten his breathing under control, he felt light-headed and dizzy. 

“Pete?” Vanessa mumbled as quietly as she possibly could, a while after Peter’s breathing had become stable. 

“Y-yeah?” He sounded completely exhausted and pained, like everything still hurt. By now, she had figured that sensory overload had sent him into a panic attack. Dad had mentioned it as a possibility before, as he had witnessed it happening to Peter once. Peter had already been on edge, but she had thought his music was calming him down, back in class. Then, of course, Flash just  _ had  _ to act like a dick.

“Why don’t you stay here, and I’ll call Happy to pick you up?” she suggested. “I can go grab your things.” As she spoke, she stood up, stretching her back with a quiet groan. They had been in there for a little over twenty minutes, and the way she had been sitting was not comfortable in the slightest. 

“No, I-I can…I can go back to class, I’m fine.” 

“Peter,” she said, quiet but stern. “You’re going home, I’m not letting you force yourself through this again. It’s okay to admit that things are too much sometimes, okay?” 

“Okay,” he mumbled. She sighed, looking down at him with a soft frown, worry still coursing through her veins. She hated that he had to deal with this. 

“Be right back,” she promised before pushing open the door and stepping outside. She shut it behind her with a soft click.

Peter was left alone in the dark, but he felt better than he had all day. Finally, things were dark and quiet, and even though he felt emotionally drained and the pain in his chest was only just starting to ease, he felt okay. Vanessa would look out for him, of course she would. He’d be fine. 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure how well this turned out, so please let me know what you think :)


End file.
